The Breath of Dawn
by Soukouno Kimmonkyou
Summary: Yumoto would do anything to help animals, even if that means secretly adopting them under the nose of his very zoophobic mother. The aloof, refined Kinshiro would in no way be willing to help... but if there was any chance to help an animal, Yumoto would try anything. With any luck, maybe Yumoto could get Kinshiro to open himself to others and alleviate his emotional hurt, too.
1. Inexplicable Concern

Chapter 1 – Inexplicable Concern

This school is full of graceless buffoons.

From those delinquents that pelt the halls with spitballs to the gym class misfits asking me for condoms to that lazy "Earth Defense Club," there are certain classes of people that Binan High School is better without. How did Binan High School, once renowned the world over for its sheer elegance and regal air, devolve into such a bastion of baseness? I swear to the good gods above, if something wasn't done about the impurity that this school reeked of, I would-

"Oof!" A first-year student crashed into me, with little regard for his surroundings. "Sorry about that!"

"Ugh, it's you…" I remembered this kid far too well - Hakone Yumoto, the leader of the Earth Defense Club, and the biggest dimwit I had ever met. He was so stupid that someone with a single-digit I.Q. could outsmart him effortlessly. And if this school had to locate the culprit of its gracelessness, this buffoon would be him. In disgust, I departed for the student council meeting room with a huff.

"Kusatsu-sempai, I'm really, really sorry!" Yumoto attempted to apologize. Not that I bothered to listen or reply to him, for that blockhead didn't deserve even a second of my attention.

What _did_ deserve my attention, however, was the stack of paperwork that typically cluttered my desk. I normally loved to test my skills in intelligence, I really did, but… I could only stand to look at arcane language and tedious statistics for so long before I decided I had had enough. This task was so boring that I wanted to bury my face in the paperwork and cry, wishing to the stars above that it would just do itself. It was quite dark outside, only adding to the mounting tiredness that almost overwhelmed me right now.

"Kinshiro?" Ibushi bought me a cup of tea to help me feel better. "What's wrong?"

"It's this blasted paperwork…" I groaned, taking a sip of the tea offered to me. At least in the midst of all of this tedium, I knew that in student council meetings I always had Ibushi's wonderful tea to look forward to. "I can't stand it. I really think I'm going to keel over just thinking about how the principal is going to have my head if I don't get it done soon."

"It's a shame," Akoya remarked. "You've been working on it almost nonstop for days."

"Yes, and if it weren't for the delinquents who raided the Gay-Straight Alliance's on-campus store, I would have been done with it days ago."

"Sounds like someone needs a break…" Ibushi consoled me with a hug from behind. "Why don't you take off for the day? We can take care of the rest of the paperwork."

"You… are kidding, right? Don't you realize that this paperwork is due by tomorrow morning, and if it isn't submitted by then, the principal will-"

"Kinshiro-sempai." Akoya took a stern tone with me as he practically shoved me out of the room. "You are going to take a break, and that's final. Go do something refreshing, then come back when you've cooled off."

"Okay, okay, I'm going… Sheesh." Sometimes, I couldn't tell if the other student council members were my schoolmates or my guardians. It did help me that they were quite dependable, though, because now I could do the one thing I do nearly every night before heading home: go to the movies.

I normally enjoyed quite depressing movies, as I could sympathize with the characters far too well. Tonight, however, I decided to watch a rather famous romantic comedy. I needed a little bit of joviality in my life after the monotony I had endured mere minutes ago.

Oh, how charming – the heroine is such a klutz and the hero doesn't seem to mind one bit. I for one was amazed that the hero could fall for someone as clumsy, hyper, and extroverted as that girl. I knew that there was no way I would ever fall for someone like that, though… not even if he begged me. Besides, I was in love with the most wonderful man in the world – my longtime friend, Kinugawa Atsushi.

The man had beauty like the dawn, evident every time he cast a smile in my direction. I could run out of breath, but the mere thought of Atsushi would renew it back into me. Despite how much I loved him and would move heaven and Earth for him, I just couldn't approach him.

And the sudden entrance of Atsushi with his friends reminded me why. It would have been one thing if Atsushi came on his own… But why did he have to bring his band of fools with him? Especially that worthless couch potato, Yufuin En, who is the very reason I haven't had the courage to approach Atsushi in the first place?

To make matters worse, they would not shut up. The heroine said something stupid, they laughed. The hero cracked a cheesy fart joke, they laughed. The hero confessed that he had explosive diarrhea, they laughed. It seemed that for 90% of the movie, those imbeciles laughed with no consideration for me or the other theatre guests.

I considered leaving the theatre just to get away from them, but by that time, the movie had ended. Phew – now I could go back home, where I could get something to eat before calling Ibushi to find out how the paperwork went. Even better, though, I didn't have to pay any heed to those insufferable Earth Defense Club members for the rest of the night. Or at least, that's what I thought, until…

"Oh, En-chan, you're simply wonderful!" When I turned around, I noticed Atsushi getting a little… close with Yufuin. "I can't wait until our next date!"

"You won't have to wait long, my love. After all, spending time with you is one of my life's greatest joys."

"Hey, hey!" Ryuu seemed to resent the intimacy he witnessed. "No fair! I wish I could go on an interesting date like you guys do!"

"Then I'll be glad to oblige," Io answered, giving Ryuu a side hug.

"You guys…" Atsushi shook his head before returning his attention to Yufuin. "En-chan, you are the best boyfriend I could ever hope for."

At these last words, I nearly collapsed to the ground, in a huge public space, with my spirits low and my heart heavy. So, after all this time, after me waiting for the opportunity to speak to Atsushi again, someone has robbed me of that opportunity. And of all people to steal Atsushi from me, it had to be Yufuin. That listless, can't-be-bothered Yufuin, who couldn't possibly-

"Eh?" Atsushi took notice of my distress. "Kin-chan, is that you?"

"Urk!" I couldn't believe he could notice me this late at night, and in such a huge crowd. What rotten luck.

"Kin-chan, you look awful." Atsushi took a few steps in my direction. "What's wrong?"

I defensively took a few steps back as I glared at the Defense Club. "Stay… back…"

"Kin-chan?"

Atsushi's obliviousness to my distress finally proved to be too much, and in a fit of annoyance, I shouted, "Stay away from me! I never want to see the likes of you and the Defense Club again!"

With that, I ran in the direction opposite to the Defense Club, not caring whether or not my path actually led to home. I just had to get away from them as fast as I possibly could. I couldn't run for very long, though, as the cold weather seared my throat. Quite lost, I simply surmised where home _might_ be and began to walk. In the midst of my resentment, I had found myself in a deserted, dismal alley - perfectly fitting for someone like me. No people, no sounds, no stray animals… Just me and my downtrodden heart. Maybe I should stay here a while just for this alley's seclusion from all the annoyingly happy people meters away.

At least, I _thought_ this alley was secluded, until…

"Ew, what a disgusting-looking cat!" I heard a teenage boy shout at the far end of the alley. "Why would you protect such a nasty thing?"

"Y-You can threaten me all you… like…" a feeble-sounding voice began, "but I'm not going to let you harm this kitty."

"She's just going to die, anyway! Just let her go!"

"N-No…" The voice displayed no intention to relent.

"Then you're just going to have to go with her!" another bully declared as he and his cohorts continued to beat the kid up.

At this point, I decided that enough was enough. I had suffered my fair share for the day – there was no need for another person to go through what I had to go through. With little thought, I approached the bullies, attempting to keep a cool head. "Hey. Leave him alone."

"Who the heck are you?" The apparent leader of the bullies turned to me, arousing the interest of his cohorts. "Wait… You're the president of Binan High's student council, Kusatsu Kinshiro, aren't you?"

"Yes, and this student council president is going to have to ask you to leave the kid alone."

"Oh, yeah?" The leader arose and grabbed me by the shirt. "You and what army?"

"My army of the student council, that's who. If you like, I can report to the principal that you're all juvenile delinquents and have you swiftly expelled. After that, you can have a fun time trying to convince your parents not to take all of your skateboards, video games, and dirty magazines away from you."

"Ugh, what a buttmunch… Let's go, guys." The leader gathered his cohorts, who left the area in shame.

Grateful that the bullies had yielded, I now turned my attention to the poor kid they had pestered. I attempted to touch him, but he merely flinched warily, saying, "S-Stay away from me! I'm not going to let you harm this kitty!"

"No, please!" I attempted to convince this kid that I meant no harm. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

"Do you… mean it?"

"Yes, I swear it."

"O-Okay…" The kid finally loosed the tension and turned to me. I was shocked to learn that this kid, who essentially risked his life for a scraggly cat, was none other than the Binan High buttmunch, Hakone Yumoto. "Is… that you, Kusatsu-sempai?"

"Dear gods, Yumoto, we need to get you to a hospital." Forget the fact that it was biting cold and I really wanted to be home, drinking hot chocolate, right now. This kid was in so much pain that I'd be callous to ignore him. I attempted to help on his feet, but as I did, Yumoto refused my help.

"No, I'm fine." Yumoto insisted. "I just need to go home and rest. My parents and Gora-chan can take care of the rest."

"And what about the cat? What are you going to do with her?"

"Why, adopt her, of course. I was in such a hurry to see her this afternoon that I ran here just to make sure she was okay. I'm glad I came when I did, or else those bullies could have done unspeakable things to her…"

So, _that's_ why Yumoto had crashed into me in the hallway. If I had known this reason… If I had known that Yumoto only wanted to help someone in need, I would not have been so angry with him. To make up for my actions this afternoon, and to help Yumoto feel better, I brushed his hair from his forehead and looked at him sincerely. "What of you? Are you okay? Do you need me to help you with anything?"

"No, I'm fine."

"B-But…" Why? Why was I so concerned over Yumoto, the Yumoto who probably had a single-digit I.Q., the Yumoto who could easily trip over his own feet, the Yumoto who'd probably forget his own head if it weren't attached?

"Kusatsu-sempai, don't you worry about a thing!" Yumoto grinned, not affected by the apparent pain he was in. "I'll be fine, count on it."

"All right…" I began as I made way for home. "If you need anything from me, you know where the student council room is."

"Sure thing! Thanks for helping us, Kusatsu-sempai! Have a good night!"

It was with those words that Yumoto took the direction opposite to mine, clinging onto that cat for dear life. For the rest of the night, and well into the day that followed, my mind would not let go of that adorable kid and his determination to protect the cat. Shit, I just called someone other than Atsushi adorable. Not only that, but I had shown such concern for someone, with no hesitation, that I have only shown to Atsushi, whom I have known for years. Could I finally be… opening myself up to another human being?

_No, that's simply absurd,_ I thought as I neatly stacked that pile of unexciting paperwork, ready to turn it in to the principal.


	2. New Friends

Chapter 2 – New Friends

"Hey, Kinshiro-sempai, come look at this," Akoya awoke me from the nap I took on my latest stack of paperwork.

"Ugh…" I resisted the fatigue that wanted to bring my head back down. Unfortunately, my fear of one day literally being bored to tears came true – and right on top of the paperwork. "Dammit! Why… Great, now I'm going to have to give a poor excuse to the principal why this happened – again."

"No, you don't. It's just spam mail from the gym class, asking for you to allow dirty magazines in the library. Every single paper in that stack."

"Oh, good…" Something had to be done about that gym class. What possessed such young students, who should concentrate on their college entrance exams, to even think about such lewd literature, I would never understand. At least this meant that I didn't have to deal with monotony – for a while, anyway. "Anyhow, you wanted to see me about something, Akoya?"

"This is a request to start an animal rights club." Akoya handed me a new club request form.

How… quaint. Considering how wild and animal-like students at this school tended to be, I'm surprised it took so long for this to happen. "Oh, really? Who from?"

"Hakone Yumoto."

The utterance of this name caused me to create a tornado of spam mail throughout the room. I would have flailed about even more wildly, too, if I didn't want to ruin the flowers that Ibushi worked so hard to arrange.

"…So I take it you reject this request, then?" Ibushi asked as he picked up after the mess I made.

"No, no…" I cooled down now, not sure why I acted to rashly in the first place. "Forgive me, I'm just… shocked that such a simpleton could have initiative to do anything other than stuff his face with _onigiri_. I hereby give this Animal Rights Club my stamp of approval."

"Really?" Akoya eyed me suspiciously. "How unlike you, Kinshiro-sempai. I always thought that you found animals to be unclean creatures and a complete waste of time."

I barely held back a blush as I replied, "Akoya, please. I don't want to discuss it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to deliver this approved form to that idiot."

With these words, I departed the student council room for the one place I knew Yumoto would be – that Defense Club meeting room. I don't know why in blazes I ever approved their use of that room anyway – all they did was laze around and talk about how boring the day turned out to be, if they didn't do so at the Kurotama Bathhouse. Maybe it was because Atsushi pestered me into doing it, in which case the Defense Club better be thankful that I loved the man enough to do such a crazy thing.

It did not amaze me in the slightest that when I arrived in that room, everyone did exactly what I expected them to – Ryuu bragged about the multitude of dates he booked for himself, Io perused the stock market, Yufuin slept with his legs on top of the windowsill, and Atsushi contemplated the jigsaw puzzle he worked on. I suddenly felt like I came here for nothing, because despite my expectations I saw no trace of Yumoto in that room.

"Oh, Kin-chan." Atsushi looked up from his jigsaw puzzle and at me. "How unusual of you to visit during a Defense Club meeting. What can we do for you?"

I wouldn't call "doing nothing but loafing around" substantial material for a meeting, but whatever. "Yumoto is not here?"

"If you're wondering about Yumoto," Ryuu rudely cut in, "he left about ten minutes ago, saying that there was something very important he had to do. I had no idea where he went."

"Is… that so?"

"Anyway, is that all?" Ryuu spoke to me in a near snarl. "I'd rather you not spend to much time here; I'm sure you have some odd tasks for your cronies, like shining your boots or cleaning toilet commodes."

This boy's crude attitude incensed me to no end. I decided that Ryuu was not worth my time, however, especially since I knew that the only person who could ever truly tame him was Io.

Besides, why waste time on him when I could be looking for Yumoto? Leaving the room and ultimately the school, I couldn't really locate that kid. He wasn't at home or the restaurant famed for its _onigiri._ He wasn't even at that Megawa Rui's house, where I've noticed him spending a lot of his time doing gods know what.

All the walking I endured began to take its toll on my legs, to the point where I decided I should save my energy and just wait for Yumoto to show up for the Defense Club meeting tomorrow. Just when I made way for home, with that club approval form in my handbag, a person very quick on his feet sped past me.

"Hey! Watch it!" Before I could berate this intruder any further, I barely managed to recognize that face. Not that I needed to, because there's only one person I know of with agility that acute. "Yumoto, where are you going?"

"I don't really have the time to talk!" Yumoto answered as I attempted to keep up with him. "I need to make it back before Mom gets home! Oh, and you're free to enter the house. I'll explain everything to my parents later."

"You know, Yumoto, you shouldn't be so trusting of people you barely know." I accepted Yumoto's offer, kicking my shoes off before following him to his room. "That friendliness could bite you in the butt one day."

"Yeah, but you helped me the other day and even tried to make sure I was okay." Yumoto sat, grinning at me childishly. "I think we're friends after that!"

"Me… friends with _you?_" I knew Yumoto was messed up in the head, but this really set the bar pretty high. If he thought that just a simple act of kindness and sympathy could automatically label someone as a friend, then he truly had no idea how social interactions worked. In the middle of my contemplations, I noticed that Yumoto held something close to his chest the entire way here. "Oh? What do you have there?"

Yumoto loosed his grip somewhat to reveal a rather small, but healthy, cat. "Look! Isn't she just adorable? I think I'm going to call her Tama-chan."

I had to admit that despite how I didn't really have a thing for animals, Yumoto was right – the cat was, indeed, very cute. "You didn't pick her up from that alley, did you?"

"You bet I did." Yumoto put Tama-chan down, letting her roam about the room as a much skinnier cat approached him. "I think she's friend's with Neko-chan here."

"Neko-chan?"

"That's what I named her after we rescued her yesterday."

"What a thoughtful owner you are, to give your pets such very _creative_ names." I shook my head in sarcasm.

"Yeah, except I can't really be the owner." Yumoto pouted. "There's no way Mom would let me keep the animals. If it weren't for Gora-chan covering for me all the time, I'd have gotten busted a long time ago."

"So you mean to tell me that you've been hiding all these animals under your parents' noses?"

"Well…" Yumoto looked away from me, as if to hide a shameful expression. "Yeah."

"But you're going to get in trouble!"

"I've got to help these poor guys somehow! There are far too many harmless animals on the streets and in shelters." Yumoto's voice shook, as if he were about to cry. "I… I can't just leave them be…"

The distraught, gloomy Yumoto began to bring to me flashbacks of my own childhood. I have seen my young self in this position too many times before, when I cried for having my heart broken or not getting what I wanted. Poor, poor Yumoto… If there was any way to help him…

Before I could make a motion of consolation towards Yumoto, a rush of footsteps approached the door in loud _thumps_. I half-expected the footsteps' source to be a huge, looming figure like Yumoto's older brother, Gora-san, or their father. When I turned to identify the source, I couldn't believe it – such a petite, young-looking woman could produce footsteps of that loudness?

"Yumoto, there you are!" The woman sounded exasperated. "Where in the name of all the gods were you for the past hour? You should have come home right after the Defense… Club… meeting…"

As the woman took notice of the cats, dogs, rabbits, and other small animals in the rather large room, her voice slowed down in disbelief. "Yumoto, what are all of these animals doing in here?"

"Um… Uh…" Yumoto didn't sound like he could make a plausible excuse. The poor thing. "I… wanted them?"

"Nice try, mister! You know that I've expressly forbidden pets in this house! Their dander is going to give me allergies!"

"But Mom, you hang out at your friends' house all the time, and _they_ have tons of pets."

"Ugh, that's not the point! I don't want them here! Get every single one of them out of the house, now!"

"No!" Yumoto took Neko-chan and hugged her protectively. "I'm not gonna!"

"All right, if you're going to put up a fight…" Mrs. Hakone took Tama-chan by the scruff. After an awkward, silent pause, she shook the cat violently until it began to _meow_ in pain.

"Mom, stop it! Let Tama-chan go!" Yumoto pleaded, desperate for no further harm to come to Tama-chan. His efforts proved to be almost futile, however, because by the time Mrs. Hakone let Tama-chan down, the cat was visibly shaken, dizzy, and in agony.

"Listen up, and listen good." Mrs. Hakone stooped to glare at her son. "You've got until the end of the month to get rid of all of these pets. If they're not gone by then, I'm going to return them to the animal shelter. Is that clear?"

"S-Sure…" Yumoto's tone sounded scathing as he mumbled. "…Just remember that I dislike you and I will not forgive you for this, you bitch."

"What was that?" Mrs. Hakone threatened a slap, and at that point, I knew that she had truly gone mad. To prevent this madness from getting any worse, I arose and blocked the slap that had come within a foot of Yumoto's face. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"Preventing the need for me to take you to an asylum, that's what."

"This is between me and my son! What right do you, a stranger, think you have in telling me how I discipline my child?"

"Mrs. Hakone, I'm not a stranger…" I looked at the woman with a serious expression. "I'm his friend."

"G-Grr…" Mrs. Hakone appeared exhausted at all the energy she expended in anger. "I'll deal with you another time. For now, I need to go chat with my friends on Facebook after all the agony you've caused me today."

Just the now-lack of that insufferable woman's presence brought me great reprieve. Not that her opinion mattered, however, because what _did_ matter now was Yumoto and how shaken he appeared. I nearly felt afraid to even touch him or open my mouth in an attempt to make him feel better. But to my astonishment, he was the one to reach out to _me._ "K-Kusatsu-sempai… I don't know how I can repay you for this, but… Thank you so much for helping me – again."

"It's the least I could do." I smiled, hoping that Yumoto would return the expression – and he did.

"You even called me a friend." Yumoto's grin turned to be even warmer than my own. "You have no idea how happy that makes me."

"Er, well…" Did those words really come out of my mouth? Did I really call someone other than Akoya, Ibushi, or Atsushi a friend? And the utterly helpless, idiotic Hakone Yumoto, no less? "I guess we are friends now, aren't we? We both want to help needy animals."

"Y-You're going to help me?" Yumoto spoke with hope.

"Sure, why not?" It was at this moment that I just remembered the club approval form, and I now took it out of my handbag. "Why don't I start with this?"

"Why…" Yumoto perused that form for a while. "This is…"

"Congratulations, Yumoto. The Animal Rights Club is now an official club at Binan High."

"Yay!" Without letting go of the form, Yumoto swung his arms around my neck and drew his face close to mine. "Thank you, Kusatsu-sempai, you're the best! I feel happy now."

Despite how small Yumoto's frame was, he sure knew how to hug with a ton of force. More than that, though, his face appeared so much more adorable up close than it did from afar. I also had no idea that he used strawberry-scented shampoo, because that smell began to permeate my olfactory senses, and soon I found myself utterly captivated by it…

Dear gods, what the hell am I doing, letting myself being charmed by this dunderhead? To prevent my thoughts from going any more awry, I arose with the intention to head to the movie theatre.

"Kusatsu-sempai, you're leaving now?" Yumoto asked.

"Yeah…" I couldn't turn around, because to do so would likely reveal to Yumoto what I had been thinking. "I'm going to the theatre."

"Really? I'd love to come along!" Yumoto jumped up. "As for the pets, I'll call Gora-chan and tell him to come here. The bath is going to close any minute, so he should totally have the time."

"All right, if you insist."

With that, we both made our way out the house, completely disregarding Mrs. Hakone and the complaints she made over Facebook to her friends. Not that I would care if she tried to stop us, anyway, because I wanted really wanted to spend time with Yumoto. I didn't think I'd ever acquiesce to doing something like this, but… I needed a break from all of that dull paperwork anyway. And it seemed a lot more fun to actually go to the movies with another person.

Maybe I can actually open myself up to others after all.


	3. Emotional Bonds

Chapter 3 - Emotional Bonds

"Kinshiro-sempai, where in blazes were you last night?" An infuriated Akoya caught me in the hallway the next day at school. I, of course, couldn't tell him, lest I felt prepared to give him an embarrassing tale - and I didn't. "Why does it matter? If it was important, you could have called."

"I did - about 33 times, starting at about 19:00 last night."

That conveniently happened to be right in the middle if the movie I watched with Yumoto, and I had my phone turned off. It was only common courtesy, was it not?

"Ah... I bet you were at the movies. If that's the case, then you should have-"

Before Akoya could continue any further, my phone vibrated in my pocket. That could only mean a text message.

And to my shock, it was from Yumoto.

"Kusatsu-sempai," the text began, "I hope I didn't interrupt something important with Gero-sempai or something. But it's pretty bad with Tama-chan right now. Mom really roughed her up bad, and she's barely moving. I think she might be seriously sick, so can you come over to my house when you can, please?

Thanks,  
Yumoto"

Since when did Yumoto know my cell phone number? …Wait, never mind. Knowing him and his nimble fingers, that cad probably snuffed around in my handbag. Now, thanks to him, I've been dragged into something I'm not sure I wanted to be a part of...

"My, my, Kinshiro-sempai... Failing to turn your phone off during school hours. How uncharacteristic of you."

Akoya, please. Don't give me that suspicious look. "Emergencies arise sometimes. Speaking of them, I have a very, very important one to attend to - and right now."

Luckily, I didn't have to search for that emergency for long, because no sooner had I turned to leave the school, a blur of blonde hair zipped passed me.

"Somebody has got to remind that kid to stop running in the halls," Akoya remarked. "Binan High isn't a playground! In the next student council meeting, we really need to- Hey! Kinshiro-sempai, where are you going? There's still a ton for you to do in the student council meeting-"

I didn't bother to listen to the rest of what Akoya had to say. "Sorry, Akoya, but this is that emergency. I'll explain to you later – if I feel like it."

So were the words I left with Akoya before following the speedster Yumoto to wherever he had in mind. We didn't stray from civilization, so it had to be to a house… "Yumoto, where are you going?"

"Why, to attend to Tama-chan, of course!"

"And you're skipping class to do it?" We now both entered Yumoto's house, to a scent of cat food and fresh _onigiri._ "You're shameless."

"Yeah, and so are the rest of the people skipping class with me." Yumoto opened the door to his room to reveal a group of first year students, the only one I recognized being Megawa Rui.

"Hey there, Kusatsu-sempai!" Megawa grinned at me childishly. "Great, now I don't feel so bad, if the student council president is going to skip class with us."

_I dare say?! Don't you dare associate me with such delinquent behaviour! _Not that I would actually say that out loud to such an innocent face. "I hope you guys of the Animal Rights Club don't make this a habit, or I'll report you to the principal. I'm just… here to make sure you're not doing anything out of the ordinary – let's make that clear."

"Kusatsu-sempai, I swear that today will be the only day we do this," Yumoto promised me, clapping his hands together as if to ask for forgiveness. "It's urgent because Tama-chan is really not doing so well. You see, she really needs special medicine, but there's only one veterinarian around that sells it over the counter. It's super expensive, too… And to make matters worse, Neko-chan also needs the medicine."

"We're in serious trouble…" Megawa ruffled his hair in frustration. "Even if we did all the fundraising in the world, I don't know if we'll be able to afford it."

"And even if we could, Tama-chan might not make it…" Yumoto's face distorted in sadness as he took the ill cat into his arms and caressed her.

That face… That poor, distraught face… How is it that such a face could move me so? And why did I feel the urge to impulsively say, "I'll go get it."

"But Kusatsu-sempai!" Yumoto looked up at me. "It's ¥50000 for the medicine we need! It would be too much!"

"Don't worry about it. Just repay me in your assurance that you won't act like delinquents again."

"Yes, sir!" Yumoto's expression easily lightened up. "All right, you're going to need to get some anti-inflammatory medicine as well as antiemetics. And you can't miss the vet. It's called Warewarewa Onajidesu, and it's right next to Binan High. Gee, isn't that convenient?"

"Okay, see you guys later." I left without hesitation, knowing full well that I didn't have a lot of time. Being someone of rather poor endurance, and still being tired from running _to_ the house, I didn't exactly take the whole run back very well… but it was so worth it if it meant that a simple act of my charity could make Yumoto look that happy again. Nothing was going to stop me from meeting this end, nothing at all…

Except for, unfortunately, a pair of student council members with whatever "important" thing they had to show me.

"Kinshiro, I can't believe you." Ibushi shook his head. "Skipping not only a student council meeting, but also class. If your teachers found out about it, I think your station as student council president would be in serious trouble…"

"Anyway, Kinshiro-sempai, here." Akoya handed me a stack of paper-clipped papers. "They're notices that we're sending out to the members of the gym class that if they don't stop their roguish ways, we're going to tell their parents. Since you didn't show up to the student council meeting, Arima-san and I composed them ourselves – you're very welcome."

"Okay, okay…" I spoke in impatience. "Anyway, is that all?"

"Yeah, for now. You can deliver them to the gym class tomorrow. All right, you can go leave for that date you were about to go on with Kinugawa, or whatever important thing you had in mind."

As I waited for Ibushi and Akoya to leave so they wouldn't see me enter the vet's office, I contemplated Ibushi's words. A date? Yeah, right. Like At-chan would ever want to go on a date with _me_. He's got his own pretty little boyfriend to attend to.

Just like I've got my own task to attend to – at Warewarewa Onajidesu. Luckily, there weren't too many people in the vet's office, but it did reek of animal droppings and wet dog. Yet another reminder for me to try to make my way out of here as swiftly as possible. "Excuse me…"

The receptionist pushed her glasses up as she asked, "Yes, sir, how may I help you?"

"Do you have any over-the-counter anti-inflammatory and antiemetic medications? I need enough for two small cats."

"Why, yes. Hold on a second." The receptionist spent a good five minutes searching the back room for my requested items before returning with four small vials. "These are quite rare; this is the last of those particular medications we have. Because they're so rare, they're going to cost you a bit of money… That will be ¥70000."

Ugh, that's ¥20000 more than I thought. Luckily, my checking account had a little over that much, so I didn't have to leave the vet empty handed. I didn't have to tell Yumoto, "Sorry, friend, but I couldn't afford the medication. Try asking Io." With my financial contribution and my effort to make it to Yumoto's house in time, I knew that I could do something truly pleasant for another person.

To make matters even better, it wasn't that psychotic Mrs. Hakone that usually greeted me at the door, but rather her much kinder, lenient husband. "Oh, hello there, Kusatsu-kun. Come on in."

"Thank you, sir." I bowed before removing my shoes. "I'm just here to give your son a little something."

"Let me guess, medication for those sick cat's he's caring for?"

"You knew?"

"He kind of told me. It appears that he's much closer to me than he is to his mother."

"I… see." So, Yumoto now feared his mother, thanks to that outrageous outburst she had. I don't blame the kid one bit.

"Well, get going."

As I made way for Yumoto's room, I nearly dropped the vials into the pristine white carpet. Oy, what a disaster that could have been. Not as much bad as the disaster that could transpire, though – if I didn't make it in time!

Luckily, it seems that I indeed made it in time, because right in the middle of his room, Yumoto held Tama-chan close to him. "Hey, Yumoto, I've got them. The medicines for Tama-chan and Neko-chan."

"Sniff…" Yumoto looked up from Tama-chan with a rather somber expression. "K-Kusatsu… sempai…"

"Are you okay?" I stooped down to look at Yumoto in the eye. "What happened?"

"I… I couldn't… do it…"

"What are you talking about?"

Yumoto continued to cry as he released his grip on Tama-chan. "I couldn't save Tama-chan. I tried really, really hard, but… Sniff… She just… died before I could do anything… I'm such a failure! I couldn't… do anything for her… If only Mom didn't… sniff… hurt Tama-chan before... Oh, Kusatsu-sempai, all I want to do is help poor, helpless animals. I'd move heaven and Earth just to do anything at all to help, to give them loving homes… But nobody seems to want me to do that. I don't have the resources, and I don't have the welcoming environment that these poor guys need. I'm… I'm powerless."

Oh, gods… Yumoto, you poor, unfortunate soul. I sympathize with you, I really do. I can feel the emotion pain pouring from your words. I thought that a rejection from the man I love would be the deepest emotion pain I'd ever witness, but you, Yumoto… Yours is far, far worse. To let Yumoto know that he wasn't alone in all of this, that he truly had a friend, I embraced him and spoke, "Yumoto… Everything's going to be okay. You aren't alone, and I'll do anything to help you through this ordeal. Anything at all."

"D-Do you mean it?" Yumoto's tone lightened up a little.

"Yes, of course. For starters, Neko-chan is still alive, isn't she?"

Yumoto temporarily put Tama-chan down to retrieve the other cat. "Yes. She's been doing a bit better, but she still needs the medicine. I'm sure that she'll recover, though, now that you've bought me the medicine. Thanks, Kusatsu-sempai… You really are a life-saver. I don't know what I've done to get an awesome friend like you, but… I'm very grateful."

"Any time. And you know that you're welcome to visit the student council meeting room anytime you need something from me, yes?"

"Yup!" Yumoto grinned, so thankful that I have come to help.

I never thought that I'd let myself become friends with the biggest airhead in the world, the airhead whose most intelligent thoughts probably revolved around how to make the best _onigiri_. But I had just witnessed a side of Yumoto that I don't think even his friends in the Defense Club had ever seen. Who knew that under all of those goofy smiles and lack of intelligence lay a compassionate person who endured so much hurt?

This bond of deep emotion pain that we share… Are we really more alike than I think?


	4. Socializing Can Be Fun

Chapter 4 - Socializing Can Be Fun

Finally, the kid took me up on my offer to let him in the student council meeting room whenever he wanted – a fortnight after I had first made the offer. For a second there, I thought he feared that Akoya would shoo him away with a broom or something. After hearing Yumoto's knock, I called, "Akoya's not here, if that's what you're wondering. It's safe to come in now."

"Oh, good…" Yumoto peered around the room just to make sure I wasn't pulling his leg. "I thought Gero-sempai was going to shoo me away with a broom or something."

So, he's as simple as I thought him to be. "So you finally decided to pay the student council a visit. It must be important, if you're willing to risk being chased by Akoya."

Yumoto did one final check to ensure nobody but the two of us resided in the room. Gosh, was he going to confess that he let his animals leave droppings all over the halls? "Okay… So it's about Neko-chan. I've managed to find forever homes for all of the other animals, thanks to the Animal Rights Club. But for some reason, nobody wants her. Is it because she's too scraggly? Or maybe she sheds too much?"

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"What about you, Kusatsu-sempai? Would you like a pet kitty?"

Ridiculous! As if I could ever find the time, money, or desire to keep a pet. Besides, my schoolmates would think me too soft, caring for an animal like that.

But of course, I knew I couldn't say all of this to Yumoto, not after seeing how he reacted last night to Tama-chan's death. So I thought of a lie that would mitigate damage – at least for now. "Sorry, Yumoto, but my parents wouldn't allow it. My mother is allergic to cats, you see."

"Aww…" Yumoto whined. "Well, if you hear about anyone, let me know, okay?"

Before I could open my mouth in response, another knock sounded from the door, and Akoya's voice soon followed. "Kinshiro-sempai? We're coming in."

"Yoicks!" Yumoto jumped at the sound of Akoya's voice. I don't blame him, either – I had to admit that that voice could scare me sometimes, too. "Kusatsu-sempai, is there a good place in here for me to hide in?"

"Well, not really. We're not exactly ones for playing hide-and-seek like you are, after all."

In a panic, Yumoto scrambled for somewhere to hide, and just when he prepared for Akoya to chase him around with the broom… "Oh, perfect! This looks like a good spot."

"The janitor's closet? Yumoto, you're cra-"

Never mind how cluttered and smelly that closet was – the kid bolted in there faster than I could say "wow" as soon as Ibushi and Akoya entered the room. Giving me a suspicious look, Ibushi spoke, "I think that you're thinking too much about all the crap you endure because of the gym class, Kinshiro, if you've gotten to the point to where you're talking to yourself."

"And was that the janitor's closet just now?" Akoya had apparently heard that door close. "What could you possibly want from there?"

"Oh… Nothing, really! It's just the wind coming from the vents."

"Kinshiro, that's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Ibushi muttered as he retrieved the tea maker from the cupboard, and Akoya prepared to do another painting – a self-portrait, I assumed, as he loved to laud himself in the most interesting ways.

"So you guys don't have any annoyi- er, super important paperwork for me to do?" I asked, surprised that my fellow student council members could be so lax.

"No, not really," Ibushi answered, preparing a batch of what I knew would be very delicious tea. "After you sent out those notices to the gym class students, they really got scared into cleaning up their act. I guess they really love their dirty magazines and what have you."

"What a waste of time such ugly material is," Akoya snorted as he brushed a streak of pearl pink across the canvas. "But whatever it takes to put those insolents in their places, I suppose."

"I… see. So, we're quite bored, then." Some time passed with very little going on; the most interesting thing that happened was a humongous belch that sounded from the halls, and the belcher's friends applauding him for it. If I could find entertainment in such an uncouth act, then I _really_ had to find something to do, even if it involved more paperwork. Poor Yumoto, he had to have been gagging from all that bleach smell in the janitor's closet…

Oh, yes! A perfect way to break the boredom in the room. "So… There's something that I've had on my mind for a while."

"Yes?" Ibushi looked up from the pot of fresh flowers he had attended to. "What is it?"

"Okay, hear me out. This wouldn't ever actually happen, but… Let's just hypothetically say that someone was trying to find a home for a cat, because his mother doesn't want him to keep it. Would you know of anyone who'd be willing to take a cat?"

At this question, Akoya dropped his large shader paintbrush, barely saving his painting from what could have been a disaster. "A cat? You like pets?"

"No, I don't!" I felt embarrassed at such a silly notion. "And don't forget, we're speaking hypothetically."

"Well, in that case… I _hypothetically_ say that I wouldn't do it – if that cat isn't as beautiful as me, anyway. And that would be impossible, because I'm the most beautiful person in the world."

That response from Akoya didn't surprise me at all – although I wish he had been a little meeker about it. "Ibushi, you?"

"I'm sorry to say I can't help you there. I work hard enough as it is to keep my house clean, and having pets would only make it worse."

"What a shame… Well, if any of you guys hear of any interested people, let me know right awa-"

Just then, the door to the janitor's closet rattled, and out tumbled a few bottles of glass cleaner, bleach, gods know what… and a very clumsy Yumoto.

"Ouch…" Yumoto straightened his hair out and dusted himself off. "Well, at least I don't have to deal with the stink of bleach anymore. It's funny how the high and mighty student council can create such a mess in there. Good thing nobody knows about it, huh?"

"Not that it's your business to know in the first place!" Akoya temporarily abandoned his painting to scold the first-year student. "And anyway, what the hell are you doing here?! Graceless people like you don't deserve to even set foot in the sacred student council room! I better get the broom…"

Oh, crud… Yumoto, don't you dare spill the be-

"Kusatsu-sempai said I could come any time I wanted! I don't see why you have to be such a big meanie about it. He never told you?"

"Kinshiro-sempai…" Akoya turned his attention to me and glared. "You let this conniving brat in here? Why?"

"…I don't know." I shrugged, already conceding that I couldn't find a half-decent excuse. "I felt like it for some reason, I suppose."

"But there just _has_ to be a reason." Akoya eyed me with curiosity to tell me he wouldn't let this matter slide until he got an answer he wanted. I would grow to hate that fruity perfume that he wore right now, I'm sure. "You're not…"

The gods must have been listening to our conversation, because before Akoya could badger me any further, the bell to signify lunchtime rang. Thank you, thank you, whoever sent me this blessing! I'll take advantage of it right now – by leaving the student council meeting room with no hesitation. "Oh, would you look at the time? I wasted so much time talking about Yumoto that I nearly forgot about lunch. By your leave, Akoya!"

I was quite surprised that Yumoto didn't want to follow me – didn't he know that the cafeteria was going to serve ten kinds of _onigiri_ today? Or was he still reeling from the putrid bleach? Maybe I should go back and check on him.

No, that would be a horrid idea, unless I wanted Akoya to bother me as if he were one of the gym class students. And if I encountered him at the student council lunch table, the man would probably mention the Yumoto-janitor closet incident before he so much as sat down… Ugh. What a quandary.

After much consideration, I decided that the best course of action would be to sit down at an ordinary lunch table and finish my lunch before anyone saw me doing so – especially Ibushi and Akoya. Associating with the commoners wasn't an idea that I exactly fancied, but anything to keep Akoya from learning the truth. Luckily, in all that mess, I remembered to bring my lunch with me. What a relief it was not to have to get up, order lunch, and explain to the workers why I was ordering from them to begin with!

No sooner had I removed the lid to my _bento_ box when I heard a rather light but loud stomping sound throughout the halls. There was only one student in all of Binan High who would dare to run through the halls, despite multiple warnings that he would get reported to the principal if he did…

"Phew!" Yumoto barged in the cafeteria, surprisingly not attracting anyone's attention, and ordered one each of the kinds of _onigiri_ they served for the day. "I'm glad I endurance train, or else Gero-sempai would have swatted my butt with that broom. …Oh, Kusatsu-sempai, hi!"

"Shh!" I subtly gestured for Yumoto to sit across from me. "Quick, sit down."

"Why are you being so shy about it?"

"This is my first time sitting at an ordinary lunch table since becoming council president. I'm just… not used to associating with ordinary people, you see."

"Oh, is that all?" Yumoto giggled, already beginning to stuff his face with _onigiri_. "It's easier than you think! We're all really fun, friendly people! You can be as silly as you want out here."

"Silly? Me?" I nearly scoffed at such a notion… but really, it didn't sound so bad. I would never admit this to Ibushi and Akoya, but having to put on an air of nobility for almost every second of my life _did_ get tiring from time to time. "…Do you guys say stupid stuff that you wouldn't normally say?"

"Sure, like what?"

"I… still sleep with stuffed animals." I strongly resented that beaming face of Yumoto's right now. "What? You think that's funny?"

"No, no, it's just very amusing. I never would have guessed that about you, Kusatsu-sempai. I suppose even the most aloof people can be kids at heart. And you'd be surprised at how many students at Binan High still sleep with stuffed animals! They probably still have their childhood blankets, lucky pencils, and such, too."

So I shared something in common with other students – one thing only, yes, but it was sure better than nothing. To think, that all this time, I thought the whole school consisted of only buffoons. But getting to know such a "buffoon…" I didn't know how fun it could really be. I never enjoyed myself as much as this, not even with Ibushi and Akoya.

"And if you must know, I have a huge collection of stuffed animals _this_ big!" Yumoto stood to emphasize an imaginary stack of stuffed animals. "It would be even bigger, if there weren't so many empty bags of popcorn littering my bed all the time."

"Wow." I laughed, amused at such behaviour. "So, there _is_ a food that you like more than _onigiri_."

"Nah, _onigiri's_ still the best!" Yumoto proved his statement by wolfing down the last _onigiri_ on his plate. Goodness, the kid had to get into a speed-eating contest – he'd win big. "Not only are there bags of popcorn, but Neko-chan is always hiding behind the stuffed animals. It can get really hard to find her under them. Ah…"

It was almost a shame that Yumoto made a mention of Neko-chan, because the minute he did, his voice took on a sad tone – and over a cat he loved so much? "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, really…" Yumoto sat down and stared at his empty plate with sadness. "I'm just thinking about what Gero-sempai and Arima-sempai said back at the student council meeting room. And you don't really know that many other people, do you?"

"Well, no…" Oy. If Yumoto, who was friends with just about everyone, couldn't find anyone to care for Neko-chan, then what does he expect the almost friendless Kusatsu Kinshiro to do about it? I could make an announcement over the school PA if I really needed to, but…

"I'm… scared. Tomorrow's the last day of the month that my mom gave me to get rid of all the pets. And you saw her and how crazy she can get, right? Something tells me that she's not going to take Neko-chan back to the shelter… I… I really want to help Neko-chan, but…"

"H-Hey!" Yumoto's voice did not sound good. I better calm him down, before he starts crying and everyone blames me for it. With little thought, and with no other options left, I spoke, "I'll take her for you."

"But Kusatsu-sempai, you said that you're mom's allergic!"

"She isn't really. I only lied because I was embarrassed about it at first, but I'm not anymore."

"Y-You mean it?" Yumoto stopped crying to manage the beginnings of a smile. "You can afford to pay for her vet visits, and feed her, and clean her litter box, and all that?"

"Of course. There's nobody else that can take her, right?"

Jumping out of his seat, and with little regard to how people would see me, Yumoto gave me a grateful hug from behind, saying, "Yay! Thanks a bunch, Kusatsu-sempai! Be good to her, okay?"

"S-Sure…" I wanted to shake Yumoto off, but really, there was no point to it. Kusatsu Kinshiro fraternizes with dunderheads, and now the entire Binan Koukou body knows.

When the kid finally let me go, he did not go back to his dishes to take them back to the dishwasher, but rather simply took a seat by me. "Kusatsu-sempai… I noticed that you've been quite excited about helping me with Neko-chan. You've saved her and me from bullies, you saved her from my crazy mom… You've even agreed to care for her. Why?"

Yumoto had a good point... one that, unfortunately, I could not answer. Why am I doing this? I mean, maybe if it were Atsushi, and maybe if he really wanted me to, I'd do all of this… But this is the simpleton Yumoto we're talking about! "It's because… we're friends."

Yumoto gave me yet another tight hug. "Well, thanks for the help, friend!"

I felt ready to just giggle – not only because I wanted to shake of this embarrassment, but also because I didn't mind having this kid for a friend – for whatever reason that might be. But before I could say anything more to Yumoto, my fellow council members entered the cafeteria. "I can't believe that buttmunch Hakone… He made you clean up all that mess from the janitor closet, Ibushi. That's just not fair."

"Oh, but I'm used to it. Such things happen all the time at home."

"Yoicks…" I got up, knowing that if I did not, Ibushi and Akoya would catch me in this rather precarious position.

"Wait, Kusatsu-sempai!"

Yumoto attempted to pull at my blazer, but I stopped him, saying, "I'll talk to you later. As for Neko-chan, I'll come to your house after school tomorrow and pick her up. Bye now!"

Still caught in his own conversation, Akoya continued, "So, anyway… I- Huh? Kinshiro-sempai, where are you going? Done with lunch already?"

"Y-Yeah…" Phew – it sounded, at least for now, that neither Akoya nor Ibushi had any awareness of what had transpired. "I'll, just, um… ask the principal for more paperwork. So, if you'll excuse me…"

Hopeful that my giddiness didn't make my real thoughts obvious, I quickly took my leave of the cafeteria and headed for… Gosh, I didn't know where. I'm not going to the principal to ask for more paperwork, that's for sure. After what had happened with Yumoto, and after he taught me that socializing can indeed be fun, I didn't need such a monotonous thing to take up my time anymore.

It was then that I just realized that the answer I gave Yumoto wasn't entirely true. Yes, we were now friends, but… why did I agree to become friends with that buffoon in the first place? Was it because we now shared similar emotional pain? Even considering that, I mean… Spending a good deal of my money and time with this kid was beyond something any ordinary friend would do. Heck, this rivaled my bond with Atsushi, and that scared me. But what scared me even more was how I let myself be mesmerized by Yumoto, without any shame whatsoever…

Dear gods. I had to stop myself from falling deeper, or there would be absolutely no way out.


	5. That Cat

Chapter 5 – That Cat

It's funny how in all this Yumoto, Neko-chan, and animal shelter business, I had not spoken to Atsushi – not once. And even more strangely, I didn't have much of a desire to do so, but if he suddenly walked up to me right now and started chatting…

Oh, speak of the devil. Here comes the beautiful man now – and with no Yufuin by his side, either. Surprising. "Kin-chan! Hey, long time, no see! I hope that paperwork you've been dealing with hasn't left you in a fit of tears again, haha. How you been?"

"Good, I guess. I _did_ actually get bored to tears doing paperwork, but it was only once. And it was a long time ago." Well, now that Atsushi started talking to me again, I wasn't sure what to even discuss. I wouldn't dare mention Yufuin or the movies or anything like that-

"I have some free time later tonight, if you want to hang out. I planned to go see this really awesome rom-com at that theatre I know you go to often. There won't be any other Defense Club members, either – just the two of us. And no, we won't have curry afterwards, if that's what you're worried about."

I didn't know why Atsushi suddenly decided to bring up my hatred of curry, but whatever. I really did want to spend more time with the guy I claimed to be one of my best friends. "Sure, when would we be going?"

"At 19:00 tonight."

Damn. That cut right into the middle of the time at which I agreed to meet Yumoto at his house to pick up Neko-chan. "Sorry, At-chan, but I can't. I need to meet at a friend's house later to do something important."

"Aw, too bad. I really wanted to spend more time with you, seeing as how we haven't spoken to each other in a while. Another time, maybe?"

"Yeah… Yeah, another time." I felt slight shame as I turned to leave, that was until Atsushi stopped me.

"I also know that you've been in love with me for a while, and I wanted to apologize to you for what I've done."

"How… How the heck did you learn about that?!"

"Just intuition. I suspected it for quite some time, especially considering how you acted the day after En-chan and I went out for curry when we were in middle school. And when you suddenly broke down after my movie date with him, I kind of knew from there."

"Well… I'm sorry, too, for getting in the way of you and Yufuin." I could tell that this conversation would turn sour very quickly if I didn't leave soon. "If you'll excuse me, At-chan, there's somewhere I got to be. I'm gonna go adopt a kitty."

I didn't really, but whatever. Any excuse to get out of this awkward moment. …Wait, did I just tell Atsushi a little _too_ much about what I intended to do?

"Aww, that's sooo cute!" Atsushi squealed – quite uncharacteristic of someone that Binan High calls its salutatorian. I truly hope that he didn't pick up that behaviour from Yumoto – darn, he probably did. ""I wish I could have that cat! For some weird reason, there are never cats at the animal shelter when I go. It must be quite a popular pet around here."  
So, all this time, I indeed knew someone who could take a cat. But I had already promised Yumoto, and the student council president never went back on his promises. Nothing would keep me from keeping my word - not the juvenile toilet humour I heard nor the repugnant stink of garbage I endured on my entire walk to Yumoto's house.

Not even the rude woman who greeted me as I entered the Hakone household.

"Eh? You again?" Mrs. Hakone whined, obviously not pleased that I spent a little too much time with her son. "What do you want this time, Kusatsu?"

I tried to keep the conversation as terse as possible, as just being around this woman nauseated me. "I've come to pick up that cat Yumoto still has. Today's the last day you'd let him keep her, yes?"

"In that case, come right on in." Mrs. Hakone quickly gestured for me to come inside. "Finally, that ruddy cat is going to get out of here. I never thought I'd see the day. For a second, I thought that Yumoto was just going to wait things out until I 'conveniently forgot' about that cat. Good riddance."

This woman was truly unbearable, and completely not worth wasting breath on right now. What _was_ worth my time, though, was heading up to Yumoto's room, where luckily I found him, dangling a bird-like toy over Neko-chan's head. "Hello there, Yumoto."

"Oh, Kusatsu-sempai!" Yumoto stopped playing with Neko-chan to turn his attention to me. "Hi! Ready to take Neko-chan to her forever home?"

"Y-Yeah…" Was I _really_ going to keep this cat for the remainder of her life? Was I _that _determined to give her the care that no one else could? …Of course I was, because I promised Yumoto, after all. "Yes, I am."

"In that case, I'll go get her cat carrier, as well as a food bowl, some toys, and other things." Yumoto quickly gathered all that he thought Neko-chan and I would need. He struggled a bit to put her in her pet carrier, though, as the kitten appeared to not want to get into that thing. "It's okay. Good girl. Okay, Kusatsu-sempai, here you go."

"Thanks." I bowed my head as I took Neko-chan and all of her things, ready to leave, that was until Yumoto tugged at my blazer. "What is it?"

"Can I… say goodbye to her?"

"Of course you can!"

Before I had the chance to temporarily give Yumoto the cat carrier, the kid embraced the cat carrier – with me still holding it, and with me getting a good deal of that hug, too. "I'm going to miss you a ton, Neko-chan. You were really fun to play with and have around. Don't worry about anything – your new pet parent is going to make you very happy!"

"Okay…" I turned for the door. "Good night, Yumoto. Don't stay up too late."

"Bye, Kusatsu-sempai!" Yumoto waved from the window as I exited his house. "And congratulations on your new cat!"

"My new cat..." "Pet parent…" I thought these phrases several times to myself between that night and this morning, which led me to yet another boring student council meeting with nobody but me – and, interestingly enough, Neko-chan!

I don't know what possessed me to bring the cat to school, I really don't. I mean, bringing non-service animals wasn't expressly forbidden at Binan High - how could it, after the school has seen a green hedgehog and a pink wombat walk its halls? Still, to bring an animal like an ordinary cat tended to be frowned upon in certain circles, especially this student council. Neko-chan did entertain me quite a bit, though…

I think I entertained her quite a bit, too. I learned quickly that she was amused by very simplistic things, like twigs, and would play with them if they were dangled in front of her face. Right now, I had quite a fun time letting her play with the pen I used filling out the now-unimportant paperwork. Soon, however, she turned her attention directly to me, purring as she nestled her face against my hand. "Hey, that tickles…"

Neko-chan now tried to wrestle the paperwork from my grasp. "Hey, don't do that! I've got to turn that in to the principal."

The cat just meowed at me, apparently not wanting the paperwork to have anything to do with me. "…You know I hate this paperwork, don't you? That's why you're trying to take it from me."

In response, Neko-chan jumped in my lap and attempted to lick my face. For being abandoned in an alley, where bullies were known to roam, she sure warmed up to me fast. And I think I did, too. Maybe being a "pet parent" wasn't going to be so hard after all…

Except maybe if two student council members made their presence known at the door with a knock.

"Hey, Kinshiro-sempai? We're coming in."

Damn… I couldn't let Ibushi and Akoya see that I've brought a cat to school. I'd have a ton of explaining to do that I know I would dread. The only option, much to Neko-chan's chagrin, was to quickly stow her in the cat carrier and hide that cat carrier under my desk. Luckily, and just in the nick of time, I managed to do that without trouble right before the pair entered the room. I swiftly returned my attention to the paperwork, pretending to at least show some kind of interest in it. "So, what do you guys need?"

"We need to have a general discussion about the clubs at school," Ibushi began, "and what they've been up to."

I honestly didn't really see the point of such a discussion, seeing as how most clubs did a good job anyway, but I dare not protest against Ibushi when he had an idea. "All right, fine."

Ibushi and Akoya thus began a relatively ordinary, slightly mundane summary of each of the clubs at school. Apparently, the gym class had been seen volunteering at a park of seriously ill children. I never thought I'd see the day where that class, so full of misfits, would do anything for the good of humanity. After quite some time, Ibushi landed upon one of the last two clubs.

"So, Kinshiro, what's your opinion on the Earth Defense Club?" Ibushi asked. "Have you seen them doing anything lately?"

Ugh… It really pained and annoyed me to so much as think about that bastion of laziness. "No, not at all; they're beyond worthless. They've done absolutely nothing productive for the school, so perhaps we should consider disbanding them."

"That's a bit extreme, don't you think?" Akoya spoke up nervously. "Now, don't get me wrong, I would like to have that buttmunch Zaou's head on a platter. But the club is not worthless, not after that whole curry hoopla it created at the last school festival. And I've seen Yufuin and Kinugawa running a bunch of errands and cleaning the school."

Yufuin doing something productive? What is the world coming to where such incredibly rare events could occur? "Anything else?"

"No, nothing that I can think of," Ibushi answered. "That just leaves the newest club on campus, the Animal Rights Club. I'm sad to say that I haven't seen them do much of anything lately."

"I can say the same thing," Akoya added. "And I've heard that they've all skipped class once. They're probably full of delinquents. If there's one club on this campus that we should consider disbanding, it should be them."

Now, hold! That couldn't be farther from true! In a slight bit of rage, I arose from my desk.

"Kinshiro, what's wrong?" questioned Ibushi. "Do you mean to tell me we're wrong about that club?"

"You couldn't be any more wrong, Ibushi. I've watched the Animal Rights Club, and I can be the first to tell you that they're full of great people. They volunteer regularly at local animal shelters and help to spread awareness of animal cruelty at school. Now, how can you consider that worthless?"

"Well, well, well…" Ibushi stared at me, almost blankly. "That was… quite the impassioned speech."

Akoya looked like he wanted to add on to that, but before he could, a meowing could be heard from under my desk. "Kinshiro-sempai, what's that?"

Oh, no… Ack! How the heck did Neko-chan undo the zipper to her pet carrier? To make matters worse, she jumped on my desk and stared at Ibushi and Akoya while purring.

"What an odd thing for you to do," Ibushi remarked, thankfully not that annoyed by Neko-chan's presence. "So, the student council president has a thing for pets, and even dares to bring them to school. Where'd you get it?"

At this point, I didn't really care what Ibushi and Akoya thought of my new pet. The cat's out of the bag now. Hehe, what a pun. "Her name's Neko-chan, and she was abandoned in an alley. Yumoto was protecting her from bullies until I saved the both of them from the bullies." I paused for a somewhat nostalgic giggle. "He looked like a dedicated mother protecting her child After that incident, I soon agreed to care for Neko-chan, as Yumoto's mother is extremely zoophobic and would not let him keep the cat."

"Aha!" Akoya exclaimed. "So you really _weren't_ speaking hypothetically that one time, were you? All this time, you really wanted to adopt that cat – from that dunderhead Hakone, no less."

"Yes, I did. And her name is 'Neko-chan,' not 'that cat,'" I replied defensively.

"Kinshiro…" Ibushi cut in with a tone much kinder than that of his _kouhai_. "I never thought I'd say this, and please forgive me for doing so… But you've been quite obsessed with that boy lately. You haven't even spoken to Kinugawa in a while, have you?"

"Y-Yes I have!" I felt slightly flustered at that notion. "And what do you mean, I'm obsessed with Yumoto? What a silly idea!"

Akoya then intervened, "We even saw you yesterday in lunch. You actually disassociated yourself from our student council table just to sit with the commoners – and with one like Hakone! Kinshiro-sempai… You can't let yourself fall in love with him. He's so classless, he'd never be a good match for you, anyway."

I didn't know whether to slap that pretty face of Akoya's or to simply stare at the ground in disbelief… Nah, I'd do the latter, lest Ibushi get angry with me.

But honestly, what the heck was Akoya thinking? Me, in love with Yumoto? Could that really have been my motivation for helping the Animal Rights Club, and agreeing to adopt Neko-chan?

"Kinshiro…" Ibushi looked at me with sympathy – something I needed right now, because Akoya's suggestion really began to make sense… "You aren't seriously in love with Hakone, are you?"

"I… I don't know…" I put Neko-chan back in her pet carrier and proceeded for home. There was no longer a need to stay in this room, anyhow, as all necessary discussions had been had. "I guess… maybe?"

"Kinshiro-sempai, where are you going?" Akoya appeared to want to stop me. "Wait, we still need to-"

"Akoya, let him be." Ibushi stopped the secretary from doing anything. "Give him time to think. I'm sure that this is a very serious matter for him."

"All right…" Akoya pouted. "Fine."

As I left for home, I indeed had a good deal of things to think about. So, _that's_ what my motivation has been all along… In the midst of my emotional pain, in the midst of Yumoto's childishness and stupidity, in the midst of his kind deeds and endearing demeanour, I have fallen in love with him.

No, no, it can't be true. He'd never fall in love with me, anyway. He seemed too carefree to fall in love with anyone. But I really couldn't deny it, especially considering how I rejected Atsushi…

Shit… My deepest fear of falling too deep into this had come true. But now, I didn't care if I could find a way out – I just had to at least imply my feelings to Yumoto… even if I knew I couldn't confess them outright.


	6. A Blessing In Disguise

Chapter 6 - A Blessing In Disguise

If the rather… interesting events of yesterday had taught me anything, it should have been that bringing pets to school was a really, _really_ bad idea, and that doing so can have repercussions.

Apparently, I learned nothing from that day, because here I was again in the student council meeting room, with Neko-chan to entertain me. And if Akoya and Ibushi had anything to say about it, I decided that I would have none of their nagging. Heck, if they reported me to the principal, or announced to the entire student body that president Kusatsu Kinshiro was a big softie and thus worth teasing, then by the grace of the gods I would let them! Whatever it took to let Neko-chan into this school, and make me feel like a pet parent to her, I would do it – even if that meant breaking some rules.

Oy. Wasn't the student council president supposed to exemplify following the rules? Well, not that there _would _be rule-breaking, because bring pets to school wasn't forbidden. And did I just use the phrase "pet parent" again? That Yumoto has quite an interesting vocabulary.

And that brought to mind the most interesting event of all from yesterday: the realization that I had fallen in love the stupidest and most hyper individual I have ever come across. To think that I, someone of a much higher league than Yumoto, could ever have romantic feelings for that boy, even going so far as to invest a great deal of time thinking about how to imply my feelings to him… Dear gods, help me. Help me by keeping Yumoto away from me until I could sort my life out amidst all the paperwork and other shit I had to attend to.

To my misfortune, the gods completely disregarded by prayers, and it seemed that they took a step further than that to insult me. For as I stared mindlessly into space, aimlessly waving a cat toy in the air which Neko-chan pawed at, Yumoto stared at me with his cute smile. "Kin-chan-sempai! Hi!"

"Aah!" I recoiled in my seat, thankfully hurting neither myself nor Neko-chan. "Don't sneak up on me like that! You could have hurt Neko-chan! And… did you just…" Never mind. That amusing nickname didn't really bother me. Oh, I loved Yumoto, all right, if that were so.

"Aw, you bought Neko-chan to school? Cute! I'd love to cuddle with her like I do with Wombat, but… You're the pet parent, so it would be rude for me to do that."

"No, go ahead." I gave Yumoto the cat toy. "Play with her, if you like."

"What…" Yumoto studied the cat toy – not that there was much to study about it to begin with. "Why, it's just a simple twig! What the heck is she going to do with- Whoa!"

I giggled as before Yumoto could notice her, Neko-chan jumped up to claw at that cat toy. "She likes really plain toys, I've learned. I've tried several popular cat toys and she wouldn't pay them any heed. But give her something so mundane as a twig, and you could entertain her for hours."

"Wow, she's really a simpleton like me." Yumoto admitted to one of his own faults – charming. "You already know something about her! You're going to make a great pet parent, I know it."

Yes, thank you for the praise, Yumoto. I would have let myself get mesmerized by the sight of an adorable kid playing with an adorable cat, but there was a confession to be made. Or, thanks to my inability to express my emotions properly, heavily implied… and I would use one of my favourite hobbies to go about doing it. "So… Yumoto. It's funny how we're friends, but I've never gotten to know much about your hobbies, other than helping animals and exercising."

"Well, nothing out of the ordinary, really. I like to play fighting video games, and I watch sports on T.V. sometimes. I also love movies at the theatres."

There it is! "There's a really popular romantic war movie coming out next week. I'm sure you're going to have a ball with the Defense Club watching it."

"Actually…" Yumoto suddenly stopped playing with Neko-chan, and all of a sudden he took on a nervous tone. "I wasn't going to go with them. In fact, I specifically requested that they do not come along with me."

"Really? How unusual. I wouldn't imagine you going by yourself, especially since you appear to love your friends very much."

"There's a reason I requested to come alone." Yumoto twiddled his thumbs, for some reason averting my gaze. "It's because I figured that _you_ wanted to come along, and I know how you find us annoying."

"So…" Was this what I thought it was going to be? "Are you saying…"

"I want to go out, just the two of us! We can go to other places, too. I'll even treat you to this really awesome restaurant that I know about."

Gods, I am sorry I ever thought you were insulting me. I had no idea that you were really sending me a blessing in disguise, and saving me from a move that I wasn't exactly comfortable with. As for the actual confession thing… Well, there would be plenty of time for that later. "Yes, please! When would we be going?"

"Tonight, if you want – after you drop off Neko-chan at your house, anyway."

Ah... I had just remembered that I promised to deliver the paperwork to Ibushi's house tonight, especially because we had an early meeting tomorrow, and I wanted to get some sleep.  
But sacrificing a bit of shut-eye was totally worth it, because I had a fun date to look forward to tonight!

* * *

"Kinshiro!" Mother greeted me as Yumoto, Neko-chan, and I entered the house. Father didn't pay me much heed, as he had just come back from an exhausting work shift and had nearly passed out on the couch. "You're home quite early!"

"Yes, I am. I know, how unusual, right?"

"What would you like for dinner? I just got back from shopping, so I have tons of ingredients."

"I'm going out with Yumoto, and will be having a dinner out with him," I replied after I let Neko-chan out of her pet carrier and roam about the house. Surprisingly, Mother didn't care at all; in fact, she and Father warmed up to her quite fast.

"Ooh... So, then, you must..." Mother sounded quite interested, but thankfully she sensed that Yumoto didn't know that I liked him yet, and so she stopped herself. "Have fun. We'll look after Neko-chan."

"Thanks a bunch!" Yumoto gave Mother a quick, friendly hug before making way for the door. I drove, yes, but we weren't going to travel far, so we decided to go on our date on foot.

"Aww, what a cute kid!" Mother remarked with a smile. "I can see why you fancy him so much, Kinshiro. I wouldn't mind for you to bring him here more often."

Now, if only Mrs. Hakone would have similar sympathies for _me_. But I appreciated Mother's acceptance of my feelings for Yumoto (and what I presumed to be Father's acceptance as well; during this whole thing he gave me a rather worn out thumbs-up). Now the question remains… would _Yumoto _accept my feelings?

For a second, I wasn't quite sure I'd be able to answer that question, because no sooner had I left the house, Yumoto ran far ahead of me, shouting, "Come on, Kin-chan-sempai, the movie's going to start soon!"

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to catch up with the kid as he grabbed my hand. "Why so eager? You know full well that they just start with 10 minutes of previews, and probably for movies that are far from interesting."

"Yeah, but the concession lines are always super long!" Yumoto replied as before I could even react to him, he had rushed to the concession line and, remarkably, returned with drinks and popcorn that could probably feed the entire theatre.

"You should have let me pay for that, you know. That's too much popcorn, even for the both of us."

"You know I eat a lot," replied Yumoto as the two of us rushed to our seats. In his expected foolishness, a few pieces of popcorn tumbled out of the buckets on the way there – enough pieces that, as we walked, I felt as if we interrupted the entire movie with sounds of stepping on popcorn.

Luckily, nobody seemed to care – they were all drawn in to the movie. And pretty soon, I was also, and sensed that through stuffing his face with popcorn Yumoto was, too.

The movie started off fairly seriously, with a prince of an ancient war-torn kingdom in deep thought of… something. It wasn't quite apparent what, but whatever it was, the prince obviously thought the world of it. He even began to shout angrily at his subjects, with whom he had deep friendships.

Then, the prince rushed to a rather lush garden full of sweetpeas and red tulips, where he met a beautiful woman, to whom he wanted to say something, but simply struggled. It seemed like he was finally going to tell her, but in the middle of the prince's contemplations, the woman was snatched by a bunch of evil-looking men.

I could tell from the serious nature and music that the movie took on that it was going to end fairly soon. The prince's kingdom had launched an attack on the woman's kingdom, and in the midst of all the warfare, the prince secreted away from battle. His general followed, and on their way to the woman, the prince declared that he was finally going to declare his love for the woman.

Poor, poor, guy… So, _that_ was what he had on his mind. At least it truly seemed that he would make his love known, and that the movie would end quite happily.

Unfortunately for me (an even moreso for the prince), that was far from the case. The prince finally met the woman again, but before he could so much as utter a word to her, he found an arrow in his chest, and in a pool of his own blood he collapsed to the floor dead.

The movie ended with the woman grieving over the prince, whom she loved dearly and was as ready to confess to him as he was to her. Even as the woman aged, and was surrounded by a family that she formed with another man, all she could think about was the slain prince, even taking her love for him to her grave.

The theatre lights finally came on, and in no time people were walking out of the movie, never mind the credits. The theatre resounded with many sobs… but none so loud as that which came from Yumoto. He continued to cry about the movie, even on our way to whatever restaurant he had selected. "Sniff… Oh, dear gods, that was… awful… Not because the movie was bad – it was freaking awesome! Ah…"

"You feeling better?" I patted Yumoto's back to calm him down – and to my joy, it worked.

"Yes, thanks to you." Yumoto seemed to be quite engaged in our conversation – so engaged, in fact, that he nearly skipped the restaurant at which we were going to eat. "Ah, here we are!"

As we took our seats in that restaurant, I noticed that a lot of customers had _onigiri_ on their plates. It didn't shock me in the slightest that Yumoto would pick a restaurant like this, if _onigiri_ was the reason. But there was something else about the restaurant that intrigued be quite a bit...

Once we sat down, and I had a chance to peruse the menus, I finally figured out what that was. There were no meat items on the menu whatsoever, unless seafood counted. I noticed a bunch of dishes, too, that featured items that _looked_ like meat, but upon reading their descriptions, they were anything but. Wondering why Yumoto picked this peculiar restaurant, and after I had made an order for a shrimp dish and some fake cabernet sauvignon, I asked, "Yumoto, what's the deal with this place? I've never seen items quite like these."

"Oh, it's a restaurant that's known for its _onigiri._" Well, I knew that, obviously. "It's also all the rage among pescetarians, and I've been coming here almost since it opened."

"Uh…" I had never heard that word before. "What's a pescetarian?"

"It's someone who eats seafood, but no other meat," answered Yumoto as he started on the _onigiri_ just placed in front of him. "I'm mostly pescetarian, myself, but I will eat meat if there's no other protein around, or if it's offered to me personally. Like when Gora-chan gave me a _bento_ box full of the most adorably cut hot dogs I've ever seen."

Well, that made sense. The kid was part of the Animal Rights Club, after all. I had to admit that I didn't really like meat that much, either, but if I heard about a sale on seafood, then by the love of the gods I would be running thence.

"That was back when I had that fever, and for some reason noticed how long En-chan-sempai's eyelashes were."

Ugh, don't mention that bastard's name. Just hearing it nauseated me. …Or maybe it didn't, because it came from Yumoto.

"By the way, Kin-chan-sempai, what did you think about that movie? Wasn't it great?"

I stirred the cabernet sauvignon about my glass for a while, because honestly I didn't know what to say. Yes, it was a great movie, but it moved me to such tears that I hardly wanted to think about it. Yumoto apparently wanted to think about it, because a few seconds later, he uttered, "I thought that it was great. But I felt so bad for the main characters. Yeah, the woman had it hard because she had to marry a guy she didn't love, just because she's a princess. But I felt even more sorry for the guy. He had to die without ever telling the woman that he loved her. That's… Forget Romeo and Juliet, that's just the epitome of tragedy!"

Yes, it most certainly was. And it would be the epitome of my own tragedy, if I didn't make my feelings known soon. Putting the cabernet sauvignon down, I twiddled my thumbs, hoping that this coy display would catch Yumoto's attention – and it did. "What's wrong? You look like you've got something to say."

"Yumoto, I…" I just froze there. Despite all my planning, I could not think of the proper words. Not that I had time to say anything, anyway, because as soon as our waiter returned to our table after we finished eating, that kid snuck his debit card and a massive tip to the waiter. Gods know how he could have gotten that much money… and what he did with that debit card, besides splurging his money on _onigiri_, I don't think I wanted to know.

"Well, then, shall we get going? There's somewhere I want to take you," Yumoto proposed as he grabbed me by the wrist, taking me to whatever interesting destination he thought of next.

"Where?"

Yumoto apparently felt no need to _tell_ me where we were going, he just let the daisies and yellow tulips greet me instead. This park felt vaguely familiar, but… I had to ask Yumoto, just to be sure.

Then, as if the kid read my mind, he spoke, "This is Minasama no Ai Park, where confessions are known to be made."

I certainly took note of that fact, especially considering how couples were interacting intimately with one another right now. The park had many nice flowers, too, the ones that stood out to me the most right now being pansies and sweetpeas. I wanted to confess to Yumoto so badly, I really did… My racing heart demanded it. I felt that in due time, Yumoto would hear it and learn of my feelings that way, so what did I have to lose?

"That reminds me, Kin-chan-sempai. Sorry for interrupting whatever it was you wanted to say back at the restaurant. You can tell me now, if you like."

Okay, racing heart, you can stop now. I'm going to do it. "Yumoto, I… I'm very glad to have saved Neko-chan and you from those bullies for what seems like so long ago. I had no idea that such a simple act of kindness would lead to this friendship that we share now. But… I felt scared. Not because _you_ were scary, but because I scared myself. I scared myself with how nearly every waking thought I had had you in it. Not even in my entire friendship with At-chan did I ever think about someone so much. And… I realized that the reason I thought of you this way, this often was because…"

Yumoto suddenly interrupted quietly, saying, "Oh gosh, Kin-chan-sempai… So, I'm not the only one in-"

Was Yumoto about to say what I thought he was going to say? Dear gods, let it be… "Yumoto, what is it?"

"Ah… Never mind. I was just saying silly things to myself. So, Kusatsu-sempai, what were you about to say?"

So, this whole thing was just "silly things" for him, huh? Did my efforts mean nothing, then? Was I even able to continue with my confession?

No, I couldn't. Yumoto would have thought the entire thing stupid, anyway. Unable to face him any longer, I raced past a bunch of sweetpeas on my abrupt exit from the park.

"Wait, where are you going?" Yumoto attempted to chase after me. To my fortune, his famous speed faltered, and I somehow managed to outrun him. It didn't take him long to give up and walk for home.

I felt ashamed to leave Yumoto in such a fashion, but I felt even more ashamed of myself that I couldn't make my confession complete. I had hoped that all the implications I tried to leave would do the trick, but to my dismay they did not.

Ye gods, why was I so ashamed? I know that I could have confessed to Yumoto tonight. I just couldn't find the courage at the moment to do it. But after contemplating how ashamed I was for bailing out of our date, I knew that I could do it – but that would have to wait until tomorrow.

And after I delivered to Ibushi the paperwork that I had so beautifully forgotten.


	7. Multitasking

Chapter 7 – Multitasking

My migraine could not possibly have been any worse. I had a new flood of paperwork to deal with, I had gotten little sleep, I left Neko-chan at home, and Akoya proceeded to scold me for arriving so late to Ibushi's house last night. As if that wasn't bad enough, this paperwork was due in a mere three hours to the principal, and I knew that there was no way under the sun it could get done in time.

And to think, that if I had actually confessed to Yumoto last night, all of this agony could have been averted. I wanted to think of a new way to confess to him, but if a wonderful date couldn't do it, what could?

I soon decided to depart my thoughts from Yumoto for a while, because in the middle of my contemplations, Akoya forced my attention to him. "So anyway, Kinshiro-sempai, that's the whole of it. The Gay-Straight Alliance is going to hold another pretty boy contest, and there's a total uproar as to who's going to win it. Not that there's a need for an uproar, because I'm going to win, hands down."

"Yeah, yeah…" I passively waved a hand, but the words "pretty boy contest" interested me. "What?"

"Anyway, the club's president has given us ballots that we are to distribute to the school." Akoya handed me a stack of papers. "If you could get everyone you know to vote for me, that would be dandy. Bonus points if _you_ vote for me, too."

"But what about the paperwork?"

"You can have Ibushi-sempai take care of it." Akoya gestured for Ibushi to do this. "Ensuring my victory in the pretty boy contest is far more important."

Typical Ibushi, not showing a care in the world that Akoya simply used him to do his bidding. "So, who are the other candidates? Er, I mean, so I know who _not_ to vote for, of course."

"Nobody you probably know." It was evident that Akoya had only seen his own name on the ballot and didn't even bother to look at the other candidates. "There's no write-in option, either, so that will help to further ensure my victory."

Unlike Akoya, I actually wanted to look at the names of the other candidates. I found that there were quite a few stupid names, like Heywood Jablomie and Justin Aswhole. Heck, I even found my own name on the ballot, not that I dare ask Akoya how it ended up on there in the first place. Ibushi's name was also on it, as well as the imbeciles of the Defense Club. Not showing much interest in the other candidates, and already deciding that I was going to vote for Akoya anyway, I proceeded to stow the ballots away in the cabinets for the time being…

That was until my eyes chanced upon the last name on the ballot: Hakone Yumoto. Without a second thought, I took the ballot from the top of the stack and immediately filled it out, voting for Yumoto in seconds.

"Hey, what did you just do?" Akoya eyed me with suspicion. "Are you that eager to vote for me?"

"Y-Yeah…" I tried to hide my ballot in the mess of papers on the desk, hopeful that Akoya, Ibushi, and especially Yumoto would not get to see it. This wasn't the way I wanted to confess to him. "I mean, who else could I vote for? I don't know anyone else on here, and it would be pompous to vote for myself…"

"Excellent." Akoya smiled, somewhat evilly, as he left Ibushi to do the paperwork all by his lonesome. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I better campaign a little bit, before buttmunch Zaou tries to woo everyone over with his 'skills.' Whatever that entails."

"That Akoya…" I muttered, in slight disappointment of my secretary. "I bet he'd vote for himself. Not only is he too narcissistic for his own good, but he's left us to do all of the paperwork our… selves!"

"My, my, Kinshiro…" To my horror, Ibushi had somehow located my ballot and, as if to tease me, gazed upon it with more interest than I was comfortable with. "Voting for your 'friend,' hmm? I didn't know you thought of Hakone that way."

All right. Apart from Atsushi, Ibushi was my closest friend, so maybe telling him would be okay. "Okay, I admit it – I've fallen in love with Yumoto. You got a problem with that?"

"No, and I don't blame you at all." Ibushi chuckled as he began to fill out his own ballot, and put the both of them at the bottom of the stack of blank ones. "He's a total cutie. I'm just surprised, because I thought you really loved Kinugawa."

"I did, but… Let's face it, he and Yufuin are way too much in love. They go on curry dates and are essentially joined at the hip, for crying out loud. It's what I get for distancing myself from At-chan, just because I somehow didn't like the idea of him having more than one friend."

"Oh, Kinshiro…" Ibushi offered me a cup of tea – and a consoling side hug. "There, there. Did you tell Hakone yet?"

"No, not even on that date we went on last night. I was too chicken." I arose from my seat, assured by my dear friend's kind gestures. "But I will today. I know I'm going to be nervous about it, and I know it will be far from easy, but I will profess my feelings to him, come hell or high water. I'm not going to make the same mistake I did with At-chan, I am certain of that."

"That's the spirit!" Ibushi encouraged, a gesture that I couldn't be any more thankful for. "You go and do that, while I take care of a bit of paperwork."

"But Ibushi… It's going to take you ages!"

"Kinshiro." Ibushi took on a stern tone, but it was more friendly than it was scolding. He soon "forced" me out of the student council room, with the stack of ballots in my arms. "You look like you'll just erupt at any second if you don't see Hakone soon. Go."

I had no idea what Ibushi meant by "erupt," but if he meant displaying an uncouth show of emotions, there would be none of that. I didn't know why it was suddenly my duty and not that of the GSA president to distribute the ballots to everyone, but it was my duty now. Nothing to do but complete it…

"Hey, is that Kusatsu Kinshiro?" spoke a voice from a group of first years. He led his clique towards me, as if I were a leader of a boy band, and they a bunch of overly excited teenage girls. "So it is!"

"Kyaa!" squealed another kid from that group. "He's even cooler up close! And he's got the pretty boy contest ballots with him! Awesome! Hey, give me one, will you?"

By this kid's lead, the entire group soon swarmed me with requests for ballots, and in doing so touched me a lot more often than I wanted. They obviously didn't know that there was a more civilized way to get the ballots, and that was to wait until I handed them some! To further annoy me, another first year asked, "I didn't know you were both the student council president and GSA president, Kusatsu-sempai."

"What… Where did you get such a crazy notion?"

"I don't see why that should surprise you! It's the GSA president's duty to distribute pretty boy contest ballots, after all."

"…So, _that's_ how it's going to be, huh? If you'll excuse me, boys, I've got to look for someone."

As I departed that first year group and its irritating squealing, I had the notion that someone had to have set me up for this. Probably none other than the GSA president himself, who decided that the task of distributing ballots was far too exhausting for his lazy lifestyle. Someone who probably didn't like me much, either, and thought that I did nothing besides stare at myself in the mirror and let my vice president shine my boots.

…Wait. "Lazy lifestyle…" That could only mean one person. Knowing immediately the dastard that was responsible, I marched towards the Defense Club's meeting room, fully expecting everyone to be doing nothing productive, as usual. Slamming that door open, I shouted, "All right, Yufuin, this is the last straw!"

Io and Ryuu didn't seem daunted by my presence at all – not that I gave two figs about them, anyway. Atsushi, for some reason, was the only one in that room who feared me even a little, and he shook Yufuin from his nap, saying, "Hey, En-chan. Wake up."

"Eh?" Yufuin needed some gentle slaps to the face to fully awaken from his nap. "Atsushi, what?"

"Kin-chan's here," Atsushi pointed at me, "and he's very angry with you."

"If it's about Atsushi, you can't have him." Yufuin held Atsushi protectively. "He's mine."

"No, you imbecile!" I held up the stack of ballots to Yufuin's face – and to my chagrin, the guy still played dumb. "Why did you give me these? Now, thanks to you, everyone thinks I'm the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Io cut in. "They've done lots of profitable things, I hear."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't care less," Ryuu added as he took a ballot. "If they're going to make me more popular with women thanks to this pretty boy contest, so be it."

"And anyway…" Yufuin now fully sat up. "I know you won't believe me, but I didn't do this. It was Yumoto."

Speaking of that kid, I only just noticed his lack of presence in this room. How odd, considering that I half-imagined him to be cuddling the hell out of Wombat by now. "Why would you say that?"

"He's the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance," Atsushi began, "but he has an Animal Rights Club event that he has to attend to on campus. That club is promoting animal adoption for today, and Yumoto's got his hands full trying to manage all the requests for animal adoption coming in. So, he's asked the student council to take care of the ballots for him. Why, you didn't know?"

No, I didn't know that Yumoto would do this without telling me. I didn't know that he actually attempted to multitask, when indeed he needed help.

But I did know that I was going to bolt out of the Defense Club meeting room, right now, to find the boy and ask him why I was the first person he turned to when he needed help.


	8. Ballot of Doodles

Chapter 8 – Ballot of Doodles

Notes: This chapter is going to have smut in it. But I do not feel that it is fair to rate the entire fic as "mature" just because one chapter has smut while the rest are SFW. So yeah, you are warned.

And again, I'm soooo sorry for not updating! I had two major projects for school, you see. But I got them done a lot sooner than I thought, so now I can finish this fanfic at last! Thank you guys so much for being patient!

* * *

To my fortune, Yumoto being the most popular student at school had its benefits, one of those benefits being that he was very easy to locate.

I found Yumoto in the courtyard, now full of cats, dogs, rabbits, and other animals that apparently just found their forever homes. He really looked like he took on more than he could actually handle... Now, I couldn't really blame him for wanting help. When the crowd cleared a little bit, I approached the Animal Rights Club's group, saying, "Yumoto, there you are!"

Despite how occupied he was, and despite how prospective pet parents bombarded him with requests, that kid now turned 100% of his attention to me, complete with a big hug and a squeal. "Kin-chan-sempaaaaai!"

Oy, Yumoto. I'm not quite used to this kind of attention yet. "Hey, there..."

"Oh!" Yumoto, thankfully, sensed how uncomfortable I felt at such a public display of affection. "Sorry. And I'm sorry, too, for waltzing on into the student council room and suddenly leaving you with a stack of ballots."

"It's no trouble. Anyway, I heard you're helping the local animal shelter with pet adoptions. How's it going so far?"

"Terrific!" Yumoto exclaimed with glee, yet his voice still suggested some hesitancy. As he picked up a rabbit and pet it, he continued, "But we've still got loads of work to do. There's still so many of these little guys that need homes. Especially the cats."

"Cats?"

"Yes, and that's precisely why I'm here to help!" Atsushi exclaimed out of nowhere. "Kin-chan, hi!"

Not surprising, seeing as how Atsushi whined to me about wanting a cat. "So, does this mean you forgive me for not letting you know about Neko-chan?"

"Absolutely! You look like you're taking great care of her, anyway. That, and helping Yumoto with the Animal Rights Club is more than enough to make up for it."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Yumoto interrupted. "So Kin-chan-sempai, you took in Neko-chan even though you said you didn't know anyone else who could take a cat? Why?"

I jumped at this question, at a complete loss for an answer. Yes, I wanted to tell Yumoto my "secret," but did I want to do so in this fashion? And with Atsushi all ears, no less? "Because I wanted to. The poor cat looked so emaciated and ill that I'd be rotten to have not to. And… And there's no way that I could have gotten her to At-chan in time before your mother unleashed her wrath, anyway." What a pathetic excuse. Yumoto, even in his idiocy, wouldn't buy it.

Thankfully, it appeared that Yumoto didn't pry any further… sort of. "Aw, how nice of you! Megawa and the others all think you're some big meanie. Now I can tell them that Kusatsu Kinshiro is actually a really sweet guy with compassion for the needy."

I could hardly bear to look at Yumoto's endearing face as he spoke of me in such a way. No, no, no, this can't be the way that Yumoto learns about my feelings. Not with everyone watching; it would be far too humiliating. I had to put an end to my blushing face and still my heart before everyone in Binan High found out. And what better way to do that to help Yumoto with his Club duties? With little thought, I grabbed the attention of a passerby, and spoke timidly, "Um, excuse me… Sir?"

It didn't really help that the individual was a fairly old, pompous looking man who seemed to have no interest in animal adoption or me. "What do you need?"

"I don't suppose… That is to say… Would you like to adopt an animal today?"

To my astonishment and joy, the old man beamed upon hearing the phrase "adopt an animal…" almost in a fashion reminiscent of Yumoto. "Would I? Yes, please!"

"Perfect!" I grabbed a clipboard from nearby and gave it to the old man. I didn't know why, but just watching Yumoto work his volunteer shift got me to learn the ropes almost immediately. "Just peruse the animals we have here today, interact with them if you like, and if you see some that you like, write their names on this form along with your name."

Apparently, the old man knew what he wanted right away, because he returned a rather filled out form to me within minutes. "There you are!"

"That was fast." Holy… This old man had just agreed to take in three cats, three dogs, and three rabbits! Whom the heck did he live with to want that many animals?

"But of course! You see, my grandchildren always want animals, but both them and I live very far from the nearest animal shelter. You have no idea how thankful I am to you for your help in having me adopt them."

I… I helped someone in need – again… What a feeling of satisfaction that brought me. But this old man needed help getting the animals to his car, and I couldn't be the one to do it, unfortunately. Thus I called for two of the other volunteers. "Hey, you there! Can you help this good sir?"

"Right away!" The two volunteers were eager to help us out, and proceeded to put the old man's animals into pet carriers.

"Are you sure about this?" the old man asked. "You guys look like you're short-staffed as it is."

"Sir, this is what we do," I replied. "We're here to help new pet parents like you. Now, run along! I'm sure your grandchildren are dying to meet their new pets."

"Okay! Thanks again, and good luck with everything!" With that, the old man and the two volunteers were off with the 9 pets.

It's true what they say – when you help others, you make yourself feel good, too. I never would have thought that that were true, were it not for that Yumoto. For the next few hours, we in the Animal Right Club found ourselves occupied and scrambling about, with little time for breaks. Luckily, Yumoto had planned ahead, and before long, a catering company came in to give all volunteers and passers-by _onigiri._ They must have been from that pescetarian restaurant to which we went on our date, because they tasted exactly the same as the _onigiri_ I snuck from Yumoto's plate when we wasn't looking – and as delicious as I remembered. "You're brilliant, Yumoto, you really are. And caring, to boot."

"Yeah, but not as caring as you," Yumoto spoke through a mouth stuffed with _onigiri._

I have come to the conclusion that due to how occupied we were, there wouldn't be time for my confession until probably later, or perhaps tomorrow. Maybe the gods weren't favouring me after all. "Sigh…"

"What's wrong, Kin-chan-sempai? You look like you have something to say."

"Yeah, but…" My face took on a sad appearance. Hopefully no one noticed. "I can't say it out here. It's about this guy I like…"

"Aw, really?"

Kinshiro, you need to learn to still your tongue from revealing too much. But since the "cat was out of the bag" yet again, I decided to at least _imply_ something. "So suppose there's this guy that you're in love with, and you have no idea how to tell if he likes you back. How would you go about doing it?"

"Do something super sweet for him! Write a love letter, volunteer to help him, ask him out to someplace fun… The possibilities are endless!"

Yeah, except I have done all of that. Well, not the love letter bit, but I wasn't one for writing that kind of thing. And I dare not ask Akoya, the expert in artistic things, for help.

…Wait, what about the pretty boy contest ballots? In the midst of all this Animal Rights Club stuff, I completely forgot about them. And I'm sure Yumoto did too, so I decided to bring the subject back up. "By the way, Yumoto, what about the pretty boy contest? Do you want me to go distribute more ballots? When are the ballots due back to the GSA?"

"I haven't forgotten about that, dear. They're due by the end of the day, actually… The results will be announced tomorrow. And to answer your other question, no, because we're so close to the end of the contest anyways. But there is one last thing I want you to do."

"And that is?"

"There's a stack of ballots still in the Defense Club meeting room. I want you to go there, pick them up, and deliver them to the GSA meeting room. As for us, you don't have worry, because we're actually going to be wrapping up in about half an hour. After that, I'll be free to do something with you, if you want. I don't have any plans for tonight, and I really want to spend tonight with you."

As daunting as this task seemed, I at least knew that after it was done that I could finally ask Yumoto out on another date. I decided that during this date, I would not let my cowardice get the best of me again. I will make my feelings known then, and no later! But first… there were ballots to be retrieved.

And two student council members to question where I had been for the past few hours. "Kinshiro-sempai, there you are! So, how's campaigning for my victory in the pretty boy contest going?"

"Um… Just great." Akoya, if you please. Not only is the contest going to end soon, but I'm sure that by this point everyone knows who they're going to vote for.

Akoya continued, completely disregarding how I appeared to not want to continue this conversation. "Ibushi and I are going to a party by the luxurious Nozomi family later, if you want to come along."

So, Akoya's gotten close enough to Ibushi to address him with such familiarity. Interesting. "No, I can't, unfortunately. I have plans."

"Oh, reeeeally?" Akoya gave me a prying look. "And what might that entail?"

It seemed that Ibushi's intuition could work for just about anything, because now it seemed he sensed what my plans really _did_ entail, and stopped Akoya from prying any further. "Akoya, leave him alone. Why don't you go running along now? I'm sure you've got better things to do than bothering Kinshiro."

"All right, all right, fine…" Akoya left in a huff. "At least I can take this moment now to convince any indecisive people to vote for me."

"Phew, finally gone…" Ibushi remarked, then returned his attention to me. "You've got a date with Hakone again, don't you? And whatever caused you to be missing from the student council room for the past few hours, I'm sure it had something to do with him. Am I right?"

"Yes, quite."

Taking on a tone of even greater reassurance, Ibushi placed his hands on my shoulders and smiled at me. "Let me just say that I know you can do this. And if, gods forbid, anything goes bad with Yumoto, you've got my shoulder to cry on. And I'm sure Akoya wouldn't mind, either. He seems like a buttmunch, but he really cares about you. He's just not particularly good at showing it."

"Thank you… Thank you for that, Ibushi. Well, I better be off to picking up that stack of filled-out pretty boy contest ballots from the Defense Club meeting room, as per Yumoto's request. By the way, I never got to see whom you voted for. Would you mind telling me?"

Apparently, Ibushi _did_ mind telling me, because all he did in response was hold a finger to his lips and say, "Let's just say that he's very, _very_ beautiful. All right, I'll be seeing you!"

Well, that spoke volumes. Not that I cared any longer, anyway, because I had an important task to accomplish. To my fortune, nobody else got in the way of that goal, not even the Defense Club members that I was sure to find in the room, but were now absent. The stack was a bit hard to locate, though, because this room was cluttered with dirty magazines, probably belonging to that playboy Ryuu.

"Someone has _got_ to call in the janitor to do a good cleaning of this place," I spoke out loud to myself. Not only did it reek of curry, but it was also impossible to find anything in this room.

Then, as if by chance, I noticed that under a mess of dirty magazines laid a pink paper with lots of doodles in it. Quite uncharacteristic of Ryuu to keep such a compilation of doodles. But no sooner had I noticed this pink paper when I noticed a bunch of other pink papers right under it. Then I soon learned that I had just found the entire stack of ballots that Yumoto wanted me to deliver to the GSA meeting room. "Well, no need to stick around! I better get goi-"

Yes, there indeed _was_ a need to stick around. For that pink paper, treated as if it were a page in a sketchbook, belonged to none other than Yumoto. It really appeared that he had no interest in actually voting, and perhaps ran out of papers to make into paper airplanes. Or, in this case, somehow was in desperate need for something to scribble on during class, because honestly there were few people I knew that didn't doodle during a dry lecture. Most of these doodles depicted very stupid things, the stupidest of which being a guy causing a great flame with one of his farts. Wasn't that something only delinquent fraternity guys did?

But soon, I noticed a few stick figure doodles with short silver hair, depicted next to stick figure doodles with short, curly blonde hair. It appeared that the blonde guy really idolized the silver-haired guy, because down the list of ballot names, the doodles led to the blonde saying things like, "I really admire Sempai, I really do, but… I don't know how I'm going to tell him." Then, right as the doodles reached near the student council names, I noticed a doodle of the two stick figures in a field of daisies and red tulips, and a speech bubble from the blonde guy said, "I love you, Sempai, so very much!" The doodles soon ended with the two stick figures kissing, and right next to a name that was circled in bright red marker…

And that name was none other than Kusatsu Kinshiro.

I just stared at this ballot, with the paper shivering in my hands. This… Could this be a sign of the gods? Could they be telling me that Yumoto didn't think that all of this was stupid after all?

Maybe not, but the gods were certainly trying to tell me something else when a loud voice spoke from the door, and its source slammed that door shut behind him. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kin-chan-sempai! I just got done with my volunteer shift! Let's go somewhere, shall we? So, any place you… had in… mind!"

"Heh, heh…" I didn't even bother to hide the ballot, I just put it on top the stack of the other ballots I found. "Cute doodles."

"Don't comment on that!" Yumoto snatched the ballot from me. "That's personal!"

"Yes, so personal that you'd make all of those doodles – on a paper with your name so clearly written on it."

Yumoto, still without courage to look me in the eye, sat on the table next to me. "So now you know…"

"Know what?"

"Well…" Yumoto twiddled his thumbs, apparently trying to find the right words to say. "The reason behind my doodles. There's this guy I really like, you see, and I don't know how to tell him that I like him."

"Well, why don't you take your own advice? Do something super sweet for him."

"I know, I know, but… There's not much that I can do, because he's super sweet enough as it is. He's volunteered to take in a cat that we both worked hard to nurse back to full health. He was even nice enough to help me in my volunteer shift today. And now, this really smart and handsome guy is sitting right next to me."

Yumoto scooted closer to me, and took my hand into his own. I felt the urge to be overjoyed at this sudden expression, but I didn't show it, just in case I was wrong… Thus, I put on a perplexed face and spoke, "Where are you getting at?"

Yumoto didn't like my feigned ignorance, for soon after I spoke, he tightened his grip on my hand, looked at me, and exclaimed, "Dang it, Kin-chan-sempai, can't you see? I love you!"

"Oh…" I didn't know what to say to that. My heart felt alight, and it raced so fast that that was all I could think of right now. But I had to say something so that I didn't look like an idiot in front of the man I loved. I had to _do_ something, too, so that he knew that his feelings were in no way unrequited. Before he could pull my hand close to his chest, I took his hand closer to me and kissed it. "I… I love you, too."

"You don't really mean that, do you?"

"But I do." I paused for a giggle. "Heh. So I suppose that this confession thing isn't so hard after all. Especially since the one who's claimed my heart likes me back… Yumoto, I really do love you, you know that?"

"I bet I love you more! Why don't I prove it to you!" And without another word, Yumoto pulled me close to him so that I could smell that strawberry shampoo, feel those blonde locks graze my face… and feel Yumoto's lips kiss my own. With that kiss, my emotional pain, Atsushi's rejection… all the hardships I endured almost dissolved in an instant.

Never did I think that someone could display such concern for me. And what could I do but show my concern for _him?_ Even if I didn't really know much about showing affection towards others, even if I was the most romantically inexperienced person I knew, I wanted to prove to Yumoto that he meant nothing short of the world to me. I began to evolve that kiss into caresses to his back and kisses to his neckline.

And to my relief, Yumoto did not shirk or protest, but rather he embraced me and welcomed my advances, saying, "It's okay. Any pain you feel, I'll take it. I'll take it all. You don't have to be hurt anymore, because you are loved."

"No, Yumoto. You've alleviated all my pain and made me a kinder person. There's no pain for you to take." I spoke aloud, knowing full well that the old me would have only said that to himself. The old Kusatsu Kinshiro, so bound by the shackles of betrayal, would have never let someone get this close to him without lashing out, then isolating himself. The old Kusatsu Kinshiro would never try to prove his love to another person or feel the bare skin of another person against his own. But here I was, doing just that, to the loveliest person I had ever met.

And to bring even more jubilation to my formerly tattered soul, Yumoto wanted me also, evident as he allowed my caresses and kisses to wander all over his body. "I know you won't ever leave me or be a meanie to me. Because you've shown me time and again that you are way too sweet for that."

"I haven't shown you enough yet, love…" I spoke seductively. "Not even close."

Yumoto, knowing straight away what I meant, gave me that smile that I loved so much as he took me in, embracing me so tightly as if he needed me for survival. "Ah… Kin-chan-sempai…"

I, too, needed to show Yumoto how much I needed him, how dearly I treasured him. I let myself embrace him, love him, and adore the touch of his skin. Hopefully, along with my heartbeat, these things could express to Yumoto my emotions and my utmost gratitude for erasing my hurt.

And those things certainly worked, because in response, Yumoto held me closer to him, so close that I could feel his heart beating – and fast. "You… You know now, don't you? How much… Ah… How much I love you… How thankful I am that you've helped me…"

"Yes… Yes, I do." How could I not? Yumoto's heartbeat and hold on me said it all. In Yumoto's mesmerizing charm, I made my movements more impassioned, letting this young man know that he was now mine. "Yumo… to…" Dear gods, the internal flame grabbing at me began to mount, and I know that soon I would lose it…

"K-Kin-chan…!" Yumoto exclaimed in shallow breaths as his heart rate rised yet higher. "I… I'm…"

I dare not ask what he was about to say. I, too, had let myself go, and I held Yumoto close as if to calm his trembling body. In the midst of Yumoto's allure, I felt like I was going to run out of breath. The flame left my core and shot to my throat, and this release continued for what felt like an eternity…

At least it seemed that way until Yumoto kissed me after we had finished. His kiss was so refreshing that I forgot all about that flame, instead focusing on that kiss and the breath coming from it. When he ended that kiss, I took the opportunity to admire him and say, "You're beautiful, Yumoto, like the dawn – no, far more beautiful. I could nearly run out of breath, but just being with you renews it back into me."

"So, I'm like the breath of dawn?"

"Yeah." I smiled against the kiss that Yumoto gave me. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Yay, I have a new boyfriend!" Yumoto exclaimed with glee, clinging onto me with that hug of his.

"I'm glad that you're glad, but don't you want to get dressed? We still have… you know, _things_ to do."

My words seemed to give Yumoto a revelation, because not long after I uttered them, he scrambled for his clothes. "AAAH! The pretty boy contest ballots! They're due to the GSA meeting room in… Crud, right now! I'm too late, and now these ballots are null and void… The results should be announced soon."

"Come now, Yumoto." I reassured my boyfriend as I dressed, claiming his ballot of doodles after I had finished. "I've got this little thing to treasure forever. I can frame it and everything, if you like."

"And you remind me again why you're the best boyfriend ever!" Yumoto grabbed me by the arm as we both left the room. "Come on, we've got a date to go on! Let's hurry, before-"

"Before…" I noticed why Yumoto stopped us in our tracks, and it was because we encountered a bunch of overly curious individuals – 6 of them, to be exact – and they were all in couples.

Oddly enough, it didn't seem as if they planned to meet each other (or Yumoto and I) here, because Ryuu soon said of him and his boyfriend, "So, we're not the only couple in Binan High who picks the Defense Club meeting room as a place to do it. Yufuin-sempai, Kinugawa-sempai, you've done it in here thousands of times, I bet."

"Yeah." Yufuin admitted shamelessly, despite how embarrassed Atsushi appeared. "But knowing you, I bet you and Io probably do it in here every day when you think that no one is listening."

"And that's just waaaaay too much info!" Yumoto cut in, and despite how the others seemed to not notice us up until then, _now_ they did.

"Like you're the one to talk," Yufuin shot back. The sight of me seemed to shock him, because when he noticed me he pointed at me as if I were guilty for some reason. "And _this_ was who you were doing it with?"

Akoya saved the day when he began to push that guy down the hall, away from Yumoto and I. "Okay, Yufuin-sempai, you've bothered enough people for one day. Run along now before you bother more."

"Not like _you're_ any different," Ryuu muttered.

Ignoring Ryuu, Ibushi spoke to me with a much kinder tone. "See, what did I tell you? Akoya cares for you."

"Ah, Ibushi-sempai!" Yumoto grinned at my friend without releasing his grip on my arm. "Hi! And all the rest of you are here. Very well, I can tell you all that I am the very proud boyfriend of Kusatsu Kinshiro!"

"So… So you've moved on," Atsushi observed. "I'm happy for you. Let me tell you that Yumoto is the most cheerful person I've ever met, and he'll make you a happy man."

"Thanks. I know that by now. Hey, I'm sorry about just leaving you at the Animal Rights Club booth. But we had the pretty boy contest to deal with… Who won, by the way?"

"En-chan," Atsushi spoke with a grin of pride. "I'm treating him to a really luxurious date to celebrate."

"Hey, speaking of dates," Yumoto intervened, "you guys need to stop talking! Kin-chan, we need to go on our _own_ date. Come on!"

"Oh…" Atsushi showed slight shame as he dismissed Yumoto and I. "Sorry. Don't let me keep you!"

As Yumoto and I left the school to a night so filled with stars, I automatically told him where I wanted to go – where else but a place that reminded me so much about our chance first meeting? "Yuu-chan, can we go to the animal shelter first? I want to adopt a cat, a dog, and a rabbit. Neko-chan wants more friends."

"I agree… Perhaps I can get a pet for Mom, too. I don't think she's really as terrifying as I thought her to be. She just needs to get used to animals, then I'm sure she'll love them! If all else fails, I can always give the animals to you. I really want to make Mom happy. She's been so stressed lately, and I think it's my fault, so I want to do something to make her feel better."

"Considerate as ever, my love." I kissed Yumoto's cheek as we walked.

"But I'm hungry, Kin-chan-sempai. Can we go eat first?"

"All right."

"And it will be anything you're in the mood for," Yumoto declared as he embraced my arm. "I'm going to treat you, so no complaining! Where are we going to go?"

I couldn't help but grin at how generous and adorable Yumoto acted. That this disposition had helped to mollify him and alleviate my pain only made me a prouder lover. Because this young man was now mine, and I could be around that endearing attitude for a long while, I gave a quick thank-you to the stars that gave him this gift. "I think I want _onigiri._"

* * *

_The Breath of Dawn_

_Fin_

* * *

So sorry for just kind of putting smut in here. I tried to make it as purple prose as possible. And again, so sorry for being slow with this fanfic! I manage to get it done whilst at work, because it was fairly slow.

As always, comments and critiques are encouraged!


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